A paper written for my Buddhist Ethics class @ HDS:

“…when they overturn the mind of self-power and entrust themselves to Other Power, they will attain birth in the true and fulfilled land”[1]

“compassion, equanimity, and true selflessness are available to us only prereflectively”[2]

“goodness comes through me, not because of me”[3]

In exploring the possibility of a Buddhist Ethics[4], the category of a Moral Self Degree Zero functions as an anchor that roots the ethical life in a “not-I” source. By taking examples from two different Buddhist worlds, Jōdo Shinshū and Zen, it is possible to see that although conceptions of agency differ, the ideal source of action exists prior to the realm of human agency. Action is that which is the mark of the human being in the world. The term compassion is often used when describing such action that we deem ethical. Investigating the elementary forms of the self as a moral being acting compassionately from these two Buddhist perspectives results in a new understanding of what it is to be a human being, and hence can be extremely useful when navigating the Zero Degree of the moral self and of the moral life.

Turning first to the words of Shinran, the founder of Jōdo Shinshū, that are recorded in the Tannisho, the Moral Self Degree Zero (henceforth MSDZ) is illuminated by three key terms which are integrally interrelated: the nembutsu, the Vow, and Other Power. The nembutsu is both dependent upon and expressive of the Vow, which is a promise of Other Power. Yet,

“the nembustu, for its practicers, is not a practice or a good act. Since it is not preformed out of one’s own designs, it is not a practice. Since it is not done through one’s own calculation, it is not a good act. Because it arises wholly from Other Power and is free of self-power, for the practicer, it is not a practice or a good act.”[5]

This quote points to the core of an ethics derived from reading Tannisho: the nembutsu alone acts and does not discriminate. It is important to note here that the nembutsu has a multifaceted meaning and function. Practicers say the nembutsu millions of times, however it takes only one recitation of the nembutsu to be saved and born in the Pure Land. This one ‘true’ recitation of the nembutsu results in shinjin, the simultaneous realization that I, as a being in the world, am completely incapable of doing anything yet at the same time I find that everything is already done. Perfection is born out of utter despair. Yet for Shinran, this perfection can only be due to the benevolence of Amida, working through the Vow: “the inconceivable working of the Vow and that of the Name are one, with no distinction whatever”[6]. The millions of recitations that come after shinjin are to be “recognized as entirely the expression of our gratitude for the benevolence and our thankfulness for the virtuous working of the Tathagata’s great compassion”[7]. By saying the nembutsu, the Vow is capable of saving the “person whose karmic evil is deep and grave and whose blind passions abound”[8]. The person need only accept and entrust themselves to the Vow.

The Tannisho states that taking refuge in the Vow by saying the nembutsu is the only way that a human being may realize true or complete compassion[9]. Hence, the vision of the MSDZ that is seen in Tannisho does not allow for agency on the part of the individual. Thinking that one has agency is itself part of the problem, according to Shinran, as at the moment we realize that we have no true control over our lives we simultaneously realize that everything in our lives, including birth in the Pure Land, is settled. Furthermore, karma also has a significant role, encouraging some actions and discouraging others: “it is not that you do not kill because your heart is good…if the karmic cause so prompts us, we will commit any kind of act”[10]. The Moral Self can only let the nembutsu do its work: “concerning the nembutsu, no working is true working”[11] because “the nembutsu alone is true and real”[12]. By getting oneself out of the way of the power of the Vow, compassion may be expressed in the world.

Now in turning to Kasulis’ discussion of Zen Buddhism, we see that the sense of individual agency is different. As mentioned above, the moral self in this essay is being understood in relation to agency, whereas the moral life (as explained below) will be understood in relation to action or expression. The understanding of agency in Kasulis’ reading of Dogen is quite different from that of Shinran. Here, the individual takes responsibility for their state of being[13], actively cultivating a mind which can exist in ‘without-thinking’[14]. For Dogen, Zazen is the “Dharma gate of repose and bliss, the cultivation-authentication of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the presence of things as they are”[15]. Even though one must put forth effort in Zazen, it is not creative or productive effort. Rather, we are to “regain our grasp of the present moment as it is being experienced”[16] so we can authenticate the enlightenment which is already there[17]. This requires dissolution and unlearning of conceptual categories that inherently filter our experience, however the process by which one may accomplish this (zazen) is not straightforward: “to become directly aware of impermanence, to achieve without-thinking, it itself a paradox in that it requires an attempt to do what must not be willfully attempted”[18]. For Dogen, both zazen and without-thinking exist within the realm of prereflective experience, and it is here that will has no function: “in zazen…presence itself is the sole content: without-thinking has no desired focus”[19]. Awareness of awareness itself is all that remains.

The MSDZ then, in Zen Buddhism, hinges upon the without-thinking state, in which the “distinction between self and other is not directly experienced…[because] there is no self or other”[20]. All that is, is pure, prereflective experience. It is from this space that a Moral Self acts, but the only acts are responses to the present experience. Without conceptual frameworks that can direct and form the action, the only action from such a space is spontaneous and unmediated, and naturally compassionate[21].

By looking at these two views of the MSDZ it is clear that diametrically opposed traditions that understand agency in very different ways are still pointing to a MSDZ which recognizes the inability of the human being to be the true moral actor. In Tannisho we saw that the only thing that is actually real is the nembutsu, and there is a relinquishing of self-power to the Other Power of the Vow, which alone has the capacity to save. In Kasulis’ exposition of Zen we saw that the elementary form of the moral self is actually no-self – only the prereflective awareness which is present in the without-thinking state and is cultivated (to a certain extent) by self-power. What emerges from these actor-less places is spontaneous compassion, and I think that when seeking insight on the Moral Life Degree Zero, the similarities are more important than the differences because they point us towards something that is perhaps more accessible to more people.

How then, does such an understanding of the MSDZ influence the Moral Life Degree Zero? (Henceforth, MLDZ) What is the most significant aspect of these two visions is that the self has to get out of the way either for the Other Power to take over (Shinran) or for what is already perfect to be realized (Dogen). Even though these two religious thinkers differer in just how the self gets out of the way, practice itself is an element. For Shinran, you have to at least say the Name with faith, and for Dogen one must practice zazen. On an even more basic level, the MSDZ must relinquish agency so that it can be as it is. The MLDZ is the way in which the MSDZ is in the world. This is takes the form of spontaneous response to what is. In both visions, it is impossible to know just what the ‘right’ action is for any given circumstance[22], so the only appropriate response is spontaneous. It comes from the prereflective state, a state that is prior to what it is to be human. Yet because it is through the human that this spontaneity emerges, we can say that it is a fundamental aspect of what it is to be human. Furthermore, the quality of this spontaneity in its pure form is compassionate. The MLDZ is therefore fundamentally compassionate, but is only accessible when the MSDZ relinquishes agency and exists as awareness.

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[1] Tannisho from the Collected Works of Shinran (Chapter 3)

[2] Kasulis, Zen Action/Zen Person p.98

[3] class notes from 9.16

[4] Or, Ethics of ‘Buddhisms’.

[5] Tannisho, Chapter 8

[6] Tannisho Chapter 11. See also: “no evil can obstruct the working of Amida’s Primal Vow” (Chapter 1)

[7] Tannisho, Chapter 14

[8] Tannisho, Chapter 1

[9] Tannisho Chapter 4: “it is hard to save others as we wish; hence, such compassion remains unfulfilled. Only the saying of the nembutsu, then, is the mind of great compassion that is thoroughgoing.”

[10] Tannisho Chapter 13

[11] Tannisho Chapter 10

[12] Tannisho Postscript

[13] Kasulis, p. 56: “there is … no salvation outside ourselves.”

[14] Kasulis, p. 101: “The more one practices zazen, the more aware on is of the quiescence of without-thinking and the more readily one returns to it even when not sitting.”

[15] Kasulis, p. 71

[16] Kasulis, p. 57

[17] Kasulis, p. 78

[18] Kasulis, p. 84

[19] Kasulis, p. 89

[20] Kasulis, p. 92

[21] Kasulis, p. 98: “Only after distinctions are introduced is that urge thwarted. Thinking not only fails to grasp the true nature of prereflective compassion; it often obstructs the expression of compassion.”

[22] The reasons differ according to teacher: Shinran says this is impossible because we are evil beings mired in blind passion. Dogen says this is impossible because thinking “obstructs the expression of compassion” (Kasulis, p. 98).

consciousness created by ecological space

The concept of the Traditional Ecological Landscape (TEL), as introduced and explained by Michael Blackstock in Faces in the Forest: First Nations Art Created on Living Trees (McGill-Queen's University Press), is a highly valuable concept that can be applied to our ways of thinking about today’s commoditized natural world. The unique element in this definition that lends a certain depth of perception to this idea of landscape is “langscape”. The significance of this word in relation to the construction of consciousness (awareness of a particular self located in space and time) and the interrelatedness of this consciousness and our understanding of the natural world, as generally material-centric, post-modern western/European people, is where the potential lies for generating new ways of thinking and being in the world, most especially the natural one.

This notion of a “langscape”, a specific geographical location that is intricately interwoven with language, recognizes the influence that our cognitive capacities have had on the world around us. Our desire to name things reflects our receptivity to the forces we experience in the natural world; forces that seem to seek acknowledgement. This acknowledgement results in the signification of these elements and events, marking them with words that describe and hint to the qualities and/or emotions evoked by the element or event. 

The idea that consciousness is created by this ecological space, wrought with signifiers, natural forces that seem to seek recognition, and both mythological and historical events, is one that lends itself most easily to indigenous peoples. The very means they have to communicate with one another are steeped in this type of awareness with the world around them precisely because that is the context in which they relate. “The indigenous languages have place names, plant names, and calendar names that give tone and texture to the TEL.” (177) However, simply because a traditional people living in a specific geographical location and perhaps a specific time as well, have this intimate connection with the world around them, we (and I speak for the post-modern, western, materialistic culture) should not abandon the links forged between the human world and the natural world. We have so much to learn from this way of relating emotionally to our surroundings and then marking those surroundings with language so as to not forget that experience/revelation.

Additionally, seeing one’s own sense of self as being generated outside of the physical body – consciousness being generated in the ecological sphere – is certainly quite different from how the post-modern intellectual operates. The compartmentalization, deconstruction, and objectification of practically every experience results in a kind of disembodiment, however one that is entirely self-centered. This exterior generation of a sense of self and the recognition of that self’s inherent place in relationship with the surrounding world is the valuable recognition that most people who are in a situation (financially, intellectually, philosophically, morally, socially) to actually do something about the state of the world need to take into consideration. It is only with this sense of self that recognizes its inherent part in and of something much larger than itself that we will be able to make the necessary changes to our lifestyles (manifesting on the exterior and interior dimensions of our being) that will bring about the changes that could increase the chances that humankind will not only continue to survive, but actually begin to truly thrive.

The One Is Perfect

It is precisely because there is nothing within the One that all things are from it.... Seeking nothing, possessing nothing, lacking nothing, the One is perfect and, in our metaphor, has overflowed, and its exuberance has produced the new: this product has turned again to its begetter and been filled and has become its contemplator.

Plotinus
Philosopher c. 205-270 AD

JAY MA GANGA

i spent 3 days in rishikesh and really loved every second. between enjoying some chai in a river front restaurant, to investigating the wares for sale in the many shops that line the streets of lakshman jhula, to watching the crowds of indian holidaymakers move across the suspension bridge (very colorful!), to sitting and just trying to absorb it all...

i spent a lot of time in contemplation that gently dipped into deep meditation while seated along the banks of the ganges. i managed to mentally prepare myself for my home return, because i am back and there is no culture shock - i really feel like i've just stepped back into what i left 31/2 months ago. i did go see the famous ganga arati preformed at the Parmath Niketan ashram, with the Guru : Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji. I arrived early, or so i thought, but all the good seats were already taken. i squeezed in next to this lovely older indian woman who saw me looking a little disapointed at the lack of seating, and pushed over saying, "why not?" the opening bhajans were lovely, all accompanied by young boys dressed in yellow. harmonium, tablas, and vocals - all properly amplified (i really enjoyed watching the boy in charge of the mixer, he was very self-important, constantly adjusting the sound on each by very tiny increments) - completed the setting of the mood. sunset over the ganges, the young priests also in yellow preforming homa (the fire sacrifice) at the river's edge, and then Swamiji walked in, his magnificent mane flowing behind him. but i was so unsettled by looking at his eyes! i was expecting this enlightened master (i had watched a tv special about him when i was ill in tiruvannamalai, and had all these expectations...) and while his presence was powerful, i think maybe it was because of the collective attention focused upon him. in any case, i was not impressed and slightly disturbed by the quality of his eyes.

on my last morning in rishikesh, i arose with the sun to go take my ganga bath. before then i had been afraid to do so, due to the power and energy of the river. also, i did not know where the best place would be for me to go - a western female, alone. i was wandering up the river bank towards where i had heard there were some beaches, but when i arrived i found signs proclaiming great danger and also i noticed that an indian man had followed me there, so no bathing at this spot. it was beautiful, however, and i took some photos and collected the sliver sand that covered the beach. as i was walking along it, i noticed this cute little hut up on the hill, and as i was imagining who lived inside and how neat it would be if i was sitting up next to the house, drinking chai with its inhabitant, out popped this old man with long white hair and a long white beard dressed all in yellow. he waved me on up to his house, and i went. babaji, as he told me his name was, showed me his lovely garden and offered me chai. i quickly learned that he has been a yoga teacher for 40 years, and he still does teach. he showed me some incredible moves - just looking at him you would never suspect that he was that flexible or that strong. "babaji take no money, only material". he showed me a book of photos taken by foreigners and gifted to him - people from all over the world have stumbled upon his little abode on the banks of the ganges and studied yoga asanas and philosophy with him in exchange only for food. it was very neat talking with him, and i couldn'y believe that on my last morning i had encountered such a character. but that is how it is in india - always characters to encounter. babaji advised me on where to take my ganga bath - across the river from his house, in fact - and i was on my way to bath in the holy waters.

the moment of total immersion was all that i had hoped for. the river had changed color over the course of the few days i had been there - first milky aquamarine, then dark brown (it rained) and then less dark brown and milky, and on my last morning the water was returning to the color i had seen on my first morning. it still was nowhere near clear - and being a big river i was sure that there were big fish, and id rather see them than just feel them nibbling on my toes - but clean and fresh. the water was cold, and quickly moving and i recited mantras as i dipped under... i stayed along the banks for at least 2 hours, just looking and sitting with an empty mind.

mysore

i came to mysore intending to stay 3 maybe 4 days. it is now day number 19. as soon as susanna (a friend from the ayurveda course in kannur) and i pulled into town on the bus, i told her that i really liked the way this town felt. this is why i have stayed so long - practing yoga at various shalas (astanga), attending philosophy class, swimming at the pool, exploring the fascinating architecture in different parts of the city, wandering the devaraja market, conversing with fellow yogis and intellectuals over chai, getting blessed by the priests ontop of chamundi hill...

i came with suzanna because her friend, gibran, had an apartment that he had rented for the entire month. we were planning on all traveling together to go visit belur, halibib, and sravanabelagola. however, our departure was pushed back from saturday to sunday to monday to tuesday - and we managed to leave on wednesday morning. the three towns were great - in order i would reccomend visiting halibib, sravanabelagola, and then belur. the temples in belur and habibib are incredible - examples of hoysala architecture and extremely intricately detailed. at sravenabelagola there is a 17+metre high stature of a jain saint on top of a mountain composed of explosed rock - basalt i think. we climbed up the 614 steps hewn out of the mountain side in the afternoon - barefoot, as is required. the views from the path up as well as the top are beautiful - karnataka is a lovely lovely state with wide plains randomly punctuated by lobs of mountains and rocks. the statue itself is beautiful - there is something to be said of giant statues carved out of one piece of rock - and such grace and elegance in the lines. halibib, where we stayed overnight - is quite delightful. fresh and small, with only 2 guesthouses and 2 restaurants, and many elegant temples. in the morning, after our breakfast of puri, rice bath, vada and coffee/tea - we walked up the hill 2 km to see the rarely visited jain temples. we were the only ones there - a wedding procession had just visited before us to obtain blessings and their offerings were the only sign of life in the three temples. such stillness and grace inside the elegantly simple temples. out of all the temples i have visited, the jain temples are the most elegant and have the most calming and settling effect.

on our return to mysore, i was deeply conflicted with what to do with my remaining time in india. one month was just too short, and i really really liked how mysore felt - how life moved, the people i was meeting, the opportunities here for study and growth. so, i have stayed. i found a room in a delightful house (sutra house) in lakshmipuram - south of the center of mysore. there is a wonderful garden where i take my fruit salad and tea every morning (brought to me by the delightful ratna or jaya - the two maids who keep this house running smoothly). the decorations in the house are well chosen and very nice - lots of old prints and neat statues and great fabrics. stan, the frenchman who 'owns' the house, is a most delightful tour guide and conversationalist. i practice astanga at sthalam 8 - a 7 minute walk away with ajay, a young yoga teacher. i never was a fan of astanga, but i am starting to like it - especially because it is to straightforward (easier for private practice). the philosophy class i attend with Narashima is amazing as well - a room full of westerners sitting at his feet, while he elegantly explains away our doubts regarding anything indian - philosophical, cultural, spiritual.

perhaps the most important thing i have learned here in mysore (other than regaining my focus, which was highly distored in kannur) is that i really don't have to waste time and energy wandering all over india looking for something which i can't even name. staying put, at least for me right now, has been providing the most depth in my practice and exploration of the interior dimension of consciousness.

thursday, i leave for rishikesh. i could not leave india with out a bath in the holy mother. i decided that just a taste of the north would be appropriate, because if i liked it too much i would really have a difficult time leaving. also, it is extremely hot in rishikesh right now - much worse than mysore (which has been having spectacular sunsets due to the clouds that blow in every evening - freshening everything up). i suppose that i can handle 45C for a few days...

kannur

i have been residing in kannur : "ur" = place of; "kan" = baby krishna --> or more commonly, the place of krishna. this 'modern' indian city is quite nice - suprisingly green, relatively clean, and rather well off. for the past several weeks i have been completely absorbed in my course and training in ayurvedic massage and panchakarma therapy. when i am not busy with theory class, practicals, studying, or practicing - i am off exploring the surrounding areas and shopping in the crazy network of streets that comprise the market.

i am sharing a house with an amazing hungarian couple: Robert and Csheela, and also Hiro, a japanese boy who has been looking after the house for Mika (who owns the house, and is presently in japan). Hiro's friend, Ciril, has befriended us, and basically helps with everything. he has taken us to adikadilai beach - which is pristine and private (read: western swimwear allowed!), and also trekking to a waterfall in a river on the boarder of karnataka, where we saw signs of elephants and spent the afternoon just sitting in the cool water, splashing and laughing and singing and sharing about our countries. he also took us to mutthapan- a unique religious ritual found only near kannur - which entailed an elaborately painted man dancing around in trance and acting out a scene from the upanishads - who then channeled a diety. at this point in the ritual all the attendees came up for darshan and to speak to the god about their problems. it was really very beautiful and quite moving - the energy was potent and tangible. this weekend i plan to attend a larger ritual (the one i mentioned was very small, maybe 40 attendees) which apparently marks the end of the theyyam season. theyyam is a similar ritual - involving trance dancing, prayer, acting out of mythological stories, elaborate head dresses, fire walking/rolling, and these last ALL NIGHT LONG. the best part is usually around 5 am, where the ritual peaks in intensity. both of these rituals are accompanied by drumming the entire time.

my course is comprised of one french woman, a man from portugal, 3 saudi's, the hungarian couple, and a young doctor (BMS) from goa. together we have explored the theory and history of ayurveda, and i think that i actually understand the tridosha concept! really! however, a month is really a VERY short amount of time to spend learning all this, and i can completely see why india requires 5 years of study to recieve a BMS (their degree of ayurvedic doctor). ive only barely scratched the surface of a ginormous pluton of information - rich in texture and stunningly deep.

one interesting thing i learned in class when we were discussing the history of ayurveda, is how the buddha died. due to the buddhsit belief in non-harming, the use of surgery in ayurvedic medecine declined. the surgical techniques that they had developed were top notch - they preformed brain/crainal surgery as well as cosmetic surgery (changing the shape of the nose and ears) thousands of years ago. however, the buddha developed an infection in his anus, where a new channel is created by infection going from a hole or wound in the colon through the muscle tissue in the butt. you end up with two holes then, where waste material moves through. obviously, the infection-caused channel is quite painful (and i think can be fatal), and one way of healing it is by taking a medicated string and passing it up through the channel and then down through the rectum and out the anus. you continue this process until the string will no longer go up through the channel, which indicates that it is healing and has closed off. this is what the buddha was prescribed, however he did not follow the doctor's orders and perished.



regarding PHOTOS: i have selected the best representations, and have posted them all on facebook, where the format is much easer to deal with and view, so please, if you wish to view them navagate to(three different albums):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109821&l=85520&id=527995523
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98918&l=d01aa&id=527995523
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104798&l=4eb15&id=527995523

tiruvannalamai

this lovely town in tamil nadu, about 3.5 hrs west of pondicherry, is home to the ramana maharshi ashram, as well as mt. arunachala - the abode of shiva. i left auroville on tuesday morning, after sharing another energy home experience in pondy with nalasa and mike. we had the famous 9 in 1 herbal drink which really is amazing and must be tried. in it these 9 herbs are blended with coconut milk: durva grass (cynodon dactylon), thduvalai (solanum trilobatum), gotu kola (solanum nirgum), indian goose berry or amallki (phyllanthus emblica), veld grape (vitis quadrangularis), bhangra (wedelia calendulaceae), matsyakshi (alternathera sessiles), and ballon vine (cardiospermum halica cabum).

the bus ride to tiru was nice and for part of the way this indian man sat next to me and jabbered away in tamil and broken english, trying to communicate with me. i was able to learn, through hand signals and inference, that he got married one year ago to a woman who was sitting in the front of the bus, and they just had a baby boy (she was holding him) of whom he was very proud. he was only 2 years older than me, and had studied biology in college, but now he works using his hands (im not sure doing what). i thought that it was really funny and great that even though we obviously couldn't communicate with any degree of depth, he still continued to talk to me and ask me questions about all sorts of things (most of which i didn't understand) and for a lot of the conversation, i just guessed what he was asking about and talked away in english. when he got off the bus with his wife, he grinned broadly and held up his baby boy for me to see as the bus pulled away.

i arrived in tiru and went straight to the ashram, where i had a booking to stay. as soon as i entered the gates of the ashram the busy chaos of tiru melted away and there was just so much peace in the air. i was so happy with my room - comfortable mattress, screened windows, a desk, a fan, and even a western toilet down the hall! it was quiet and lovely and clean! i relished being able to lounge around naked in my room, which i couldn't do in auroville because i was staying in a dorm. i went to the samadhi shrine as soon as i was settled, and sat. i ended up just sitting and sitting and sitting - the energy of the place coupled with the enormous collective intent of all the devotees was powerful and almost palpable. i sank into my self and floated there blissfully for hours that first night. i didn't even wander around the ashram to see the other buildings and was even a little late to dinner. i was so impressed with dinner as well: at least a couple hundered banana leaves were laid out on the floor, very orderly with a cup of water. everyone files in and takes their seat behind a banana leaf, then the kitchen staff comes around with buckets. each one carries a different item and one after another you get a scoop of rice then various curries and sambar and fruit and spicy paste and more rice and milk. breakfast was served the same way, except instead of a banana leaf you ate off of a plate made from smaller leaves pinned together wtih twigs (so exquisitely done!!!!!) and you had idly (little rice pancakes) instead of rice. the food was heavenly and the love and attention placed into it you could taste. some of the men, as they came around with the buckets of food, were chanting mantras, which even further intesified the energy of the dining hall. and of course, there were pictures of ramana maharshi on almost every available wall surface.

unfortunately, in tiru i came down with some sort of stomach/digestive issue (which has finally resolved itself, thank god, after a little more than a week). this affected my mood after the first day, as i didn't feel good and the idea of moving about was not too high a priority for me. however, this made sitting in meditation quite easy, so i sat and sat and sat. but after a whole day of this, i was quite frankly a littled bored. on my way to distract myself with internet, i ran into this man i had met at dinner the night before. we got to talking on the street, and we ended up going up to the caves on mt. arunachala. it was something i definetly wanted to do, however there were signs everywhere advising lady devotees to not make the trek alone. this whole women as second class citizens and property thing is REALLY starting to get on my nerves and makes me question gender roles and cultural explanations for such unequal treatment. the positive outcome of this is that i really do appreciate my country and all the most amazing and incredible opportunities with which i am blessed.

the trek up to the caves, of which there are 2, took about 30 to 45 min. halfway up, we (the israeli man and my self) stopped and chatted about the persuit of self realization. he had some really good insights, and helped me realize just how ignorant and innocent my ideas really are. we finally arrived at the first cave, which is perched up on the mountain, overlooking the city. you can see the entire shiva temple complex below, as well as an incredible views of the rest of the area - out to surrounding mountains and lakes and plains. sitting inside the caves is so sweet - there is no effort required for meditation, it is the only thing you can manage to do while you're seated inside.

the last night in tiru i stayed at the hotel ganesh international, which is very close to the main temple complex. compared with the ashram, downtown tiru is a circus - but really it is just a typical indian temple town. i saw no westerners in downtown tiru, which suprised me because there were so many of them at the ashram and the little streets surrounding it. i went for darshan at the main temple, wandered around, watched the elephant bless countless devotees with his trunk in exchange for a rupee coin, and wondered about influence that ramana maharshi, this one estatic being, had on the town, the country, and the world.